GLENDALE, Ariz. — Connecticut assistant coach Luke Murray issued a statement to second-year center Donovan Klingen sometime midway through the season. UConn will face Purdue in the national championship, and he’d better get familiar with Zach Eadie. Murray and Klingen discussed how they would approach a hypothetical matchup, with Klingen saying he wanted to go one-on-one with him and let the rest of the Huskies win the game.
Murray reached out to scouts for Monday night’s championship game, and the coaches decided to stick with Klingen’s request. He would get one-on-one with Eddie in the post, and Klingen would choke Eddie and force him into a tough two-pointer while his teammate stayed on the perimeter and knocked down a three-pointer. In pick-and-rolls, the Huskies will go two-on-two with Purdue point guard Brayden Smith and Eddy instead of manning the rollers and once again staying in contact with shooters.
“Statistically,” Klingen said, “it’s hard to win a game just by scoring two points.”
The giants of math and UConn won Monday night. Edey scored 37 points on 25 shots, but Purdue made just one 3-pointer all night as the Huskies won 75-60 to complete one of the most dominant games in NCAA tournament history .
This wouldn’t be possible without Klingen, who is college basketball’s cheat code on defense.
Few dare not double-team Eddie, or at least dig someone from the outside and try to give him something to think about when he puts the ball on the floor. NC State followed that strategy Saturday night, as the Boilermakers hit 10 3-pointers, four of which were assisted by Eadie on the opening kickoff.
“We watched the film,” UConn guard Tristan Newton said. “Their 3-pointers came from guys who went out there and helped Eddie.”
Murray also studied the numbers this weekend and noticed a trend in Purdue’s efficiency numbers. Purdue’s success doesn’t really depend on whether Eddie is “good, great, or great.” He always scores, scoring in double figures every game this season. What matters is the performance of starting guards Lance Jones, Fletcher Loyer and Smith and knockdown shooter Mason Gillis off the bench, especially from behind the arc. Our goal is to keep Edey’s score between 25 and 28 points, and keep those four under 20 points.
Yes, Edeyi surpassed his scoring total, but the other four combined for 17 points and neither Gillis nor Loyer scored.
This happened because the UConn guards reacted as soon as Edie touched it. They left the big man on the island, refusing to leave their mission.
When Smith catches the ball screen, the goal is to move him to his left and try to slide under the screen while Klingen steps back to keep Eadie behind him. If Eddie wins the race to the rim, outside help will be needed. Purdue made this very difficult as its shooters kept the ball high, forcing whoever ended up chasing them into long coverage.
Smith is very good at passing the ball, as shown below:
“The idea of the pick-and-roll is to try to get two guys with the ball at a disadvantage and putting pressure on the defense,” Murray said. “(Clingan) just took away a lot.”
The Huskies weren’t able to stop Smith from going to his right, but Klingen did so he didn’t need any help from his teammates. That’s an astonishing ability for a man who’s 7 feet 2 inches tall and weighs 280 pounds. He shouldn’t be able to move that much quality back so quickly, but that’s why Klingen will be a lottery pick.
Klingen tried to play a cat-and-mouse game with Smith, faking him as his teammate was covered in an attempt to get back into the game. From watching tape, he knew Smith preferred to pass the ball when he got up in the air, leaving the help defender with no choice but to take the shot. Smith got Klingen early:
Klingen learned his lesson. The next time, he deliberately took a step back, hoping it would make Smith hesitate, and it worked perfectly:
That’s what Clingan has been doing all year. His fear of blocking shots terrifies opponents even when he’s out of position. Even Eadie was a victim, usually making three shots at the basket, but he missed one when he kept trying to fake Klingen, but Klingen wouldn’t bite.
As is often the case, the Huskies completely changed their game plan when backup center Samson Johnson entered the game, which was difficult for opponents to adjust to but seamless for UConn. For Johnson, the plan was to double-team Eddy, trick Camden Hyde, and then recover after the ball went out of bounds. When Eddie first saw this, he threw the ball over Hyde’s head and Purdue was called for a punt.
Smith made the right decisions and finished with eight assists and one turnover. In fact, he only read two books; either feeding Eddie or trying to score himself. This year, his pull-up jumper has killed opposing defenses, but he went just 2-for-7 against the Huskies, who purposefully used the consistent play of Stephen Castle and Hassan Diarra. The ball pressure consumes his energy.
“We’ve played athletes this year and in the tournament, played some really good defenses, but not the same defense that UConn has,” Purdue coach Matt Painter said. “We compete against someone and they will A Lock down the defender. These guys are pulling defensive players off the bench. “
The Huskies are ruthless, playing defense as hard as they can every game and never missing a detail laid out by their coach. That’s how they’ve been in this tournament, with the closest game being a 14-point win over Alabama. This was the third time in Painter’s 19 years at the school that Purdue was held to just one 3-pointer.
In case you were wondering, the other two games were also losses, including the last time it happened: On February 26, 2022, in a loss to MSU, the Boilers were 1-for-9 in 3 games. field. Edeyi also got his win then, scoring 25.
In three of Purdue’s four Monday night losses, the Boilers allowed five or fewer 3-pointers.
Give 37 to Edey? Many programs worry about this situation. But the Huskies believe in the numbers and Klingen.
“The math won,” Murray said.
Just as they expected.
(Above photo of Donovan Clingan guarding Zach Edey: Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
